The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Salvia plant botanically known as Salvia×hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Radio Red’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Buellton, Calif. during the summer of 2008. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Salvia cultivars having large flowers and compact growth habits.
The new Salvia cultivar is the result of open-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is Mesa Azure, ‘Mes Azur’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,097 characterized by its medium violet-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is unknown. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated open-pollination during November 2009 in a controlled environment in Buellton, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since November 2009 in Elburn, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.